Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1887-05-07

looked as though they would start out Of his |
head. The send Of tho sea was driving the
boats head round TO starboard II I'VE struck |
the line Of breakers fifty yards TO starboard
OF the gap we must sink. IL was great field
of twisting, spouting WAVES. Mahomed
planted his foot against the seat before him,
and CHANGING at him / saw his brown toes
spread out like hand with tho weight heput
upon them as he took the strain Of the tiller
She came round bit, but not enough.
roared to Job TO back water, while dragged
and labored at my oarl She answered now,
and none too soon. Heavensl we wero in
them. And then followed q couple of minutes
OF heartbrealSng excitement such as / cannot
hope to describe. All / remember Is a shrek
ing sea of foam, out Of which the pillows rose
here, there and everywhere, like ayenging
ghosts from their ocean grave. Once VIC
were turned rightround, but either by chance
or through Mahomeds sl1illful steering, the
boats head came straight again before q
breaker filled us. Once more--a monster.
We were through it or over it--more through
than overland then, with q wild yell of
exultation from the Arab, we shot out into
the comparative smooth water of the mouth
Of sea between the teeth like lines Of crashing
waves.
But we were half full Of water again, and
not more than half mile ahead was the sec
ond line of breakers. Again we set to and
bailed furiously Fortunately the storm had
now quite gone by, and the moon shone
brightly, revealing rocky headland running
half mile or more out into the sea, OF which
the second line of breakers appeared to DO a
continuation. Atany rate, thoy boiled around
its foot. Probably the ridge that made itran
out into the ocean, only at lower level, and
formed the reef. This headland was termi-
mated by a curious peak that seemed not to
be more than a mile way from us. Just as
we got the boat pretty clear for the second
time Leo, to my immense relief, opened his
eyes and remarked that the clothes had tum-
bled off the bed and that he supposed it was
time to get up for chapel. l told him to shut
his eyes and keep quiet, which he did without
in the slightest degree realizing tho position.
| As for myself, his reference to chapel made
me reflect with sort of SICK longing on my
comfortable rooms at Cambridge. Why had
been such fool as to leave theml This is q
reflection that has several times required to
mo since with ever increasing force.
| But now again we are drifting down on the
breakers, though with lessened speed, for the
| wind had fallen and only the current or tide
Gt afterward turned out to be the tide) was
driving u.s.
Another minute, and with sort of howl to
Allah from the Arab, pious ejaculation from
myself, and something that was not pious
from Job, we were in them And then tho
whole scene, down to our final escape, re-
peated itself, only not quite so violently
l ~
compartments saved our lives In five min
utes we were through, and drifting-for we
were too exhausted to do anything to help
ourselves except keep her head straight-with
the most startling rapidity round the head
land which have described.
Round we went with tho tide, until we got
well under the lee of the point, and then sud-
denly the speed slackened, we ceased to mako
way, and finally appeared to be In dead
water. The storm had entirely passed, leav-
ing q clean washed sky behind it; the head
land intercepted the heavy sea that had been
occasioned by the squall, and the tide, which
had been running so tiercely up the river for
we were in the mouth Of small river, was
sluggish before it turned, SO we floated
quietly, and before the moon went down
managed to bail out the boat thoroughly and
get her little ship shape. Leo was sleeping
profoundly, and, on the whole, thought il
wise not to wake him. 1t was true he was il
his wet clothes, but the night was now Sc
warm that thought $50 Cid Job that they
were not likely to injure man of his un
usually vigorous constitution. Besides, w
had no dry ones at hand.
Presently the moon went down and left u
floating on the waters, now only heaving lik
: some troubled woman's breast, which CAV
: us leisure to reflect upon all we had gon
through and all that we had escaped Jol
stationed himself at the bow, Mahomed KEEP
. his post at the tiler and sat on a seat in th
! middle of the boat close to where Leo wa
lying.
: The moon went slowly down in chastene,
u loveliness; she departed like some sweet brid
' into her chamber and long, veil like shadow
y crept up the sky, through which the star
~ peeped shyly out. Soon, however, they to
= began to pale before a splendor in the east
q and then the quivering footsteps of the daw
y came rushing across the new born blue an
,, shook them from their places. Quieter an
y :, more quiet grew the sea--quiet as the sol
II rsists that brooded on her bosom and covere
. up her troubling, as the Elusive wreaths c
Is sleep brood upon and cover up pain racke
mind, causing it to forget its sorrow. FroI
3 the east to the west sped the angels of til
dawn, from sea to sea, from mountain top [
Y mountain top, scattering light with both the
p hands. On they sped out Of the darkness
- perfect, glorious, like spirits of the jul
= breaking from the tomb; on, over the qui,
" sea, over the low coast line, and tho swami
70 beyond, and the mountains beyond then
y over those who slept in peace and over tho
who woke in sorrow; over the evil and Il
70 good; over the living and the dead; over Il
wide world anC all that breathes or b.
v breathed thereon.
. 1t was a wonderfully beautiful sight, al
= yet sad, perhaps from the very excess of
:, beauty The arising sum- the setting SUI
~ There we have the symbol and the type
u humanity, and all things with which huma
" ity has to do. The symbol and the types, "
=, and the earthly beginning and the end ais
., And on that morning this came home to Il
81 with peculiar force. The sun that arose I
~ day for us had set last night for eighteen
% our fellow voyagers-had set forever
" eighteen whom we knewl
% The dhow had gone down with them; tn
- were tossing about now among the rocks a
sea weed, so much human drift on the gre
ho ocean of DEATH And we four were save